making his case. president obama defends the u.s. mission in libya. >> some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. the united states of america is different. discrimination suit. america's biggest retailer on edge as the supreme court takes up one of the biggest workplace lawsuits in history. and caught on tape. a vintage air force plane makes an unexpected water landing. this is the "cbs morning news" an unexpected water landing. this is the "cbs morning news" for tuesday, march 29th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good morning. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. defending the u.s. military mission in libya. president obama says the

operation was necessary to prevent a campaign of killing. this morning rebel forces continue to push west under the cover of allied air support. nato takes command of the operation tomorrow. secretary of state clinton arrived in london last night. this morning she will attend a conference to discuss what comes next in libya. last night the president said u.s. actions in libya stopped a slaughter and was a moral obligation the u.s. could not ignore. >> to brush aside america's responsibility as a leader, and more profoundly our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances, would have been a betrayal of who we are. >> joel brown is in washington with more on this. good morning, joel. what else did the president have to say? >> reporter: well, betty, the president passionately outlined why he believes this operation is in the nation's national interests. he was not so clear on what comes next. >> places in the world where -- >> reporter: president obama is

vowing to keep america's role in libya a limited one. >> going forward, the lead in enforcing the no-fly zone and protecting civilians on the ground will transition to our allies and partners. >> reporter: he announced nato would take full command tomorrow. the president defended the operation saying it was necessary to prevent gadhafi from killing his own people. >> i refuse to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action. >> reporter: what the president didn't say is how much the mission will cost or how long it might take. >> it may not happen overnight. as a badly weakened gadhafi tries desperately to hang on to power. >> reporter: while the president wants gadhafi out, he doesn't want to use force to do it. but others aren't so sure. following the speech, john mccain released a statement saying the united states and our allies must continue to take all necessary measures to compel gadhafi to leave power.

kentucky senator rand paul blasted the president for failing to consult congress and questioned the administration's end game. >> when or if there is regime change in libya, what kind of leadership exactly will replace gadhafi? >> reporter: this morning hillary clinton is in london for an international meeting on libya to weigh the best political options for pushing gadhafi out for good. and one of the big points of those strategy sessions will london will be just how closely should the u.s. and its allies be cooperating with the rebels fighting on the ground in libya. >> we're hearing reports of behind the scenes negotiations over gadhafi's possible exit. what can you tell us about that? >> reporter: that's something else that should probably come up in london. there's reports that italy wants to propose offering gadhafi a safe haven for an exile in africa. that would achieve the goal of getting gadhafi out of power, but it would also anger many of those opposition fighters who

want to see him held accountable for what they see as crimes against his own people. >> all right, joel brown in washington for us. thank you. they're calling for the release of a libyan woman who says she was gang raped by libyan troops. she snuck into a aaa hotel saturday to tell her story to journalists, but the libyan government quickly hauled her away. she said she was held for two days last week, beaten and repeatedly raped by gadhafi's men. the government says she is a known prostitute. her mother, though, says the government offered her anything if her daughter would just change her story. in other news, syrian president assad would lift a 50 year state of emergency as early as today. his family has ruled syria for four decades.

for nearly two weeks, protesters have demanded political reform. government troops have fired on demonstrators and it is reported more than 60 have been killed in the government crackdown. former president jimmy carter is in cuba, his visit is not an official u.s. mission. but yesterday he met with cuban religious leaders. washington and havana spar over the fate of contractor alan gross. gross was arrested in december 2009 and sentenced for 15 years in prison for crimes against the state. a japanese cabinet minister characterizes the situation at the fukushima nuclear power plant as very grave. plutonium, one of the most dangerous substances on earth, has been found in five places around the facility. meanwhile japan's prime minister faced some tough questions in parliament. opposition leaders demanded to know why the prime minister did not extend the evacuation zone around the plant and questioned

his leadership. lucy craft has more. >> reporter: officials insist the plutonium does not pose a health threat. in fact, some of it is decades old residue from nuclear weapons testing. the latest setbacks are fueling a collapse of confidence in the government's handling of the nuclear crisis, a scenario familiar to dr. robert gale, a leading authority on radiation accidents. >> i think that people, they don't necessarily trust -- they certainly don't trust people from the company. they know that people from the government are really just reading out data that they're given. it's not reasonable to expect a politician to have a fundamental understanding. >> reporter: which is why gale is calling for a panel of experts to help citizens make sense of what's going on. at chernobyl, the only significant source of cancer was contaminated dairy products which triggered thyroid cancer in 6,000 children.

japan has already pulled milk from the affected area from their food supply. >> since the fukushima accident at the moment is a much, much lower magnitude, it's hard to imagine that there would be very, very serious health consequences from it. >> reporter: it may be weeks before the plant is stabilized and years before contamination is cleaned up at the complex. but gale predicts the toll on public health will be minimal. lucy craft, cbs news, tokyo. a bullet size hole was discovered in the fuselage of a us airways jet and the fbi is investigating. a pilot discovered the hole during a routine pre-flight inspection in charlotte on monday. the plane had arrived from philadelphia. the hole is located toward the rear of the 737 but did not get into the cabin. the plane has been taken out of service. today the supreme court takes up a class action sex discrimination suit against walmart which could be the largest discrimination suit in

this country's history. the justices will hear arguments on whether the suit should go forward. if they let it proceed, some 500,000 to more than 3 million current and former employees could be included. and if they win the lawsuit, walmart would be forced to pay billions. the suit was first brought ten years ago by a group of seven women. >> just one woman suing walmart cannot possibly have the resources and make the difference that having the women stand together can. when the women stand together, you can see the patterns of discrimination that are holding so many of them back. >> walmart argues company policy prohibits discrimination and that management decisions are made at the store and regional levels. just ahead on the "morning news," amazon's new service to store music online. plus, a real life web slinger climbs the world's tallest building. this is the "cbs morning news." ding. this is the "cbs morning news." fwrs

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in dubai, spiderman climbed the world's tallest building. the man known as spiderman, alain robert, started climbing monday evening. six hours later, he made it to the top of the 160-story skyscraper. dramatic video of the crash of a vintage air force plane in florida. the t-28 war bird hit the water as it tried to land on sunday. the 1950s military trainer plane flipped upside down, but the pilot and passenger were rescued from the water with only minor injuries. the pilot had reported mechanical problems. when they say love hurts, they are not kidding. a new study on heartache says it can be as painful as spilling hot coffee on yourself. brain researchers found that when a person sees a photo of an

ex-lover, it can stimulate the same parts of the brain as intense heat applied to the arms. interesting. all right. on the cbs "moneywatch," whole foods gets liquored up and a rosy outlook on jobs. here to explain all of that is ashley morrison. you have your job cut out for you today. >> good morning to you. well, another down day for the asian markets. the nikkei went down a fraction while the hang seng went down slightly. and the price of oil dipped below $104 a barrel. today wall street gets the latest on consumer confidence and home prices. on monday a late day dip pushed stocks lower. the dow lost 22 points while the nasdaq gave back 12. american workers are ready for a pay raise. a career builder survey released overnight finds 39% of male and 30% of female employees are expecting a bump in pay in the next six months. and if they don't get one, they may be on the move. the survey also found 40% of workers think it's likely they can find a better job than the

one they have now within six months. volkswagen is recalling 71,000 jettas for a wiring problem. only cars from the 2011 model year are affected. the company says blowing the horn could cause a short circuit that would cut off power to the engine. vw says no accidents or injuries have been reported. amazon has launched a new service to store your music online. it's called the cloud player and allows users to securely store music on amazon servers. users can access the material through either smart phones or computers and play it through any android, windows or apple device. google and apple are also working on similar streaming services. and whole foods is certainly raising the bar. the upscale grocer has opened bars in a handful of its stores with more planned over the next two years. the ceo says they're trying to create a better sense of community. if the experiment works, the

company is expected to expand it across the country. and betty, you thought it was a bad idea to shop when you're hungry. >> i was just about to say, who knows after a few drinks what you'd buy. ashley joining us live in new york. thank you. straight ahead, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, b ball or wwe? the knicks and the magic hit the floor in overtime. you know rheumatoid arthritis means pain. but you may not know it can also mean destruction. not just of your joints, but of the things you love to do. and the longer you live with the aching, swelling, and stiffness, the closer you may be

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york will be sunny, 45 degrees. miami, thunderstorms, 85. chicago, partly cloudy there, 41 degrees. dallas, thunderstorms, as well, 60 degrees. l.a., partly cloudy, 71. time for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture has clear skies in the northeast and southwest. snow and rain is falling throughout the midwest, while rain soaked the southeast. and in the northwest, another storm is coming on shore. later today, it will be warm and dry in the southwest. cold and brisk in the northeast. storms will threaten much of the southeast and in the northwest, expect lots of rain along the coast. in sports, a big overtime win for the knicks. carmelo anthony jams it to put new york up by four over the magic and then the bodies go flying after orlando's jason richardson trips anthony.

the knicks beat the magic 113-106 and snap a six game losing skid. the celtics and pacers battle it out in indianapolis. in the third quarter, paul pierce hits the jumper to put boston ahead, but collison makes a big steal in the fourth followed by an emphatic slam. watch it. there it goes. indianapolis takes one from boston 107-100. and an incredibly wild finish in charlotte with less than 12 on the clock, the inbound pass is stolen by brandon jennings. he drives for the game winning lay-in, but it won't drop. bucks get to the rebound but keep missing. bobcats steal one from milwaukee 87-86. when we return, another look at this morning's top stories. and the high school honor student who allegedly pistol whipped her mom into buying her a sports car?

damaging testimony from the slugger's ex.

her shocking allegations of threats, and body changes. plus.. some baseball all-stars take the stand. and.. a bay area city could put a shorter leash on dogs. the freak accident.. that's sparking tough new restrictions. the largest sex discrimination suit in u-s history. the bay area woman behind walmart's battle in court. and how shedding the pounds,,,,,

on the "cbs morning news," , here's a look at today's weather. it feels like winter in the northern half of the nation and spring in the south, severe weather, though, will roll through the lower mississippi valley and heavy rains will soak the northwest. here's another look at this morning's top stories. president obama defended the u.s. mission in libya saying the u.s.-led action stopped the slaughter of libyan civilians by moammar gadhafi. but the president said the u.s. will not pursue a regime change. today the supreme court considers whether to allow a massive class action lawsuit against walmart to continue. the case potentially involves over a million and a half women who say they were discriminated against. listen to this story. a florida honors student is in juvenile detention accused of pistol whipping her own mother. police in ft. myers say two weeks ago the 17-year-old allegedly attacked her mom for

refusing to co-sign a car loan. police say she then forced her mother to drive to a car dealership and buy a sports car. the daughter drove off, but the salesman didn't notice anything wrong. >> we agreed on the numbers and did the deal. nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all. she wasn't nervous, she wasn't under duress, she was fine. she was in a hurry. >> police say the gun used was stolen last july and investigators are looking in to whether she has a connection to that crime. a new report suggests that parents need to inform teenagers about the dangers of online use. the american academy of pediatrics says teens face several threats that can lead to what they call facebook depression. sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: at her pediatric checkup, 11-year-old melissa martinez gets her height and weight checked, and when the doctor comes in, she gets a social media checkup, too. >> do you have like a facebook page? >> reporter: the doctor has already been talking facebook and twitter with her patients,

but now all pediatricians are being urged to do so. the american academy of pediatrics has issued a new clinical report citing a 2009 statistic that more than half of all teens logon to social media more than once a day. she warns about sexting, cyber bullying and posting inappropriate pictures. >> might have sounded like a fun idea, funny, cute, whatever, at 17, but then at 30, do you really want that picture coming back to haunt you when maybe an employer inadvertently sees it. >> reporter: the report also warns about something called facebook depression, that kids could feel bad if they don't have enough friends on the site or their status updates aren't busy enough. melissa's mom says her two children were surprised to find out their dad was monitoring the web sites they visited. >> they were shocked that he really checked and i told them you're not playing with this stuff. we need to know what you're doing on the computer. >> reporter: while the report cautions parents that the best approach is open communication

and supervision, a discussion about the pros and cons of social media could be just what the doctor ordered. sandra hughes, cbs news, los angeles. h adhd. you're getting calls from his teacher he's impulsive in class. and his inattention makes focusing on homework tough. i know how it is because my son has adhd too. i didn't know all i could do to help manage his adhd. our doctor suggested a treatment plan with non-stimulant intuniv. [ male announcer ] once daily non-stimulant intuniv has been shown to reduce adhd symptoms. don't take if allergic to intuniv or are taking guanfacine. intuniv may cause serious side effects, such as low blood pressure, low heart rate, fainting, and sleepiness. intuniv may affect the ability to drive or use machinery. other side effects include nausea, tiredness, trouble sleeping, stomach pain and dizziness. tell the doctor about your child's medicines and medical conditions, including heart, liver or kidney problems. i'm a mom first and a teacher second.

so i did my homework and got informed. [ male announcer ] ask the doctor about once daily non-stimulant intuniv.

it was last summer that anna chapman captured the world's attention. after pleading guilty to espionage in the u.s., the red haired russian was sent back to moscow as part of the biggest spy swap since the cold war. back in her homeland, she turned her notoriety into a career with photo spreads, endorsement deals and a weekly tv show. bbc's steve rosenberg sat down with her for an exclusive interview. >> i never saw myself as a tv star. most people, they dream of being a tv star like they dream of fame. it never happened to me. i never even felt of that. >> reporter: tell me a little bit about your program. what's it about? >> well, we decided to go with a topic mysteries of the world,

which is basically very general. it's for everyone. there are people not interested in politics, economics, business, whatever. but everyone, every single being, is interested in mysteries because they're secrets, they're unsolved. so we just wanted to do something general. >> reporter: considering the title of your program is mysteries or secrets of the world, are you considering devoting one of the programs to secrets of anna chapman, secrets of your own life as a secret agent? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: might be quite interesting for the audience. >> well, no comment. >> reporter: it's quite unusual for a former secret agent to become a television star. >> who told you i was an agent? >> reporter: so you deny being a secret agent?

>> as i said before, numerous of times, i will never deny and i will never confirm the fact. >> reporter: so what about the future? what would you -- do you see yourself doing more television in the future or getting into other areas like politics? >> i'm actually planning to launch a 3d production here in russia because not many people know how. and i think there is huge possibilities to discover in 3d production here because we've got very interesting possible production events that i could cover with my own company. >> reporter: being a tv star, you're a celebrity, that's no doubt, are you attracted by the idea of celebrity? >> as i said, i never planned to be a celebrity and i will not do anything else to develop this. that was the bbc's steve rosenberg reporting. and coming up later on "the

early show," the latest on rebel forces in libya heading to gadhafi's hometown and president obama's defense of u.s. military action. plus how to cut back on your energy bills even as costs continue to rise. and why women think they're over the hill much younger than men. that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com